


The Maker's Miracles

by Cryptonite_00



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alistair is the reason, Cullen gets annoyed frequently, One-Shot, Other, Templar Training, Vignette, i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 13:50:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13148022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryptonite_00/pseuds/Cryptonite_00
Summary: Everyone says that Miracles don't happen often, but Cullen is absolutely certain that one is needed at Bournshire. Preferably, to turn this bunch of rowdy, entitled idiots into proper Knights--but at this point, he was more inclined to ask for a way to save his mental state from all of Alistair's nonsense.The hardest part of Templar training, it seems, is going to be enduring the other recruits. (One in particular, as it were).





	The Maker's Miracles

**Author's Note:**

> As fun as it is to imagine Alistair and Cullen were buddies, I like to think that they really were antagonistic rivals during training, with young Cullen wanting everyone to be honorable and young Alistair using humor as his go-to. It was kinda cool to try and examine Alistair's behavior (especially as a child) from the perspective of someone who doesn't know anything about his backstory, and has a completely different outlook on life and their circumstances.

After a lifetime of respecting The Templar order for it’s discipline and character, it takes Cullen about two weeks to be completely sure that the training process must have been one of the Maker’s miracles. 

How else would this group of rowdy unwanted sons get shaped up into the dignified men who represented the Chantry? 

That wasn’t to say that he thought the Order was some sort of punishment—quite the opposite, in fact. Being accepted into the ranks was a privilege that had to be won by screaming and kicking and forcing his siblings to train him until he stood out enough to the Honnleath Chantry’s men, for him.

That’s probably why Cullen was so angry with his fellow recruits at Bournshire: all of them were so ungrateful for what they’ve been given. They think it’s a punishment, or a way to keep them out of the way, put in place by their Lord fathers who don’t have use for a spare child, and even less use for a bastard. 

It’s all true, but it still makes him upset that they act like it. And it makes him more upset that they all got in on time and got through the training, just to act like idiots at every opportunity. They acted untouchable, like they could do whatever they pleased and only had to be serious enough to pass the lowest possible bar.

Especially that one idiot, Alistair, Who would scream and misbehave at every opportunity just because he hated the conformity, or the silence, or whatever other dumb reasons he offered to do what he did. While everybody else was in a constant state of annoying entitlement, they knew how to restrain themselves just enough to pass the lowest possible bar. Alistair, on the other hand, seemed to have some sort of desperate wish to create as much of a scene as possible, while making himself look more like a fool, giggling all the way. He didn’t pull out his undoubtedly noble father’s name at every opportunity, and he talked with the servants much more than was appropriate--but the problem was that he never ever seemed to stop talking about nonsense. Quite literally nothing that came out of his mouth was substantial. 

The worst part of it all, though, was that Alistair was consistently at the top of the rankings. Perhaps, that was the Maker’s real miracle--giving this idiotic moron enough skill in swordplay to not only not get thrown out for incompetence, but top the ranks--but if it was, then He certainly had His priorities out of order. The very idea that the Maker would waste His time on such foolishness was utter blasphemy. 

To be fair, Cullen’s absolute hatred towards the other boy wasn’t unfounded. It had been developed over time, and was as nuanced as could be. It wasn’t like he arrived at Bournshire determined to not like everyone, after all. In fact, he actually rather liked Alistair, in the beginning. He had to, for practical reasons, what with circumstance making it so that the two were made to spend time both on the training field and in the dormitories: Alistair’s room was the only one with an open space, and since he was top of class, he was in charge of any extra tutoring anyone needed. (It was only later that Cullen would realise that both those things were initially punishments). 

He quickly saw that the jokes never really stopped; he really was like that all the time. He was insufferably funny, and annoyingly loud, and didn’t pay attention to anything, and a big dumb distraction.

Late at night, sometimes, Cullen would catch him in rare serious moments--writing letters, or messing with the jagged cuts on top of his ears, or labouring over a single chess piece. (Later, he would go over to Alistair’s desk and see that it was the King, stolen from the one decrepit board in the library, with pieces lost to the ages). He could even have a rare moment of stoicism when in the middle of a sparring match, when he didn’t have the upper hand; it went away the second the advantage changed sides. But all these privately redeeming qualities were crushed under the weight of the fury he felt seeing the flippant attitude the other recruit held towards nearly everything. 

And everybody laughed along! All of them were glad to have a joker in their midst, making faces during inspection and talking back to every Knight in the vicinity. They’d even join in, and make the common room the absolute loudest place in Thedas--so much so that Cullen could hear it both outside and confined to his room. Even the more lenient Sisters and Templars were happy to laugh with everybody--it was all too ridiculous to handle, most days.

No Noble Bastard took anything in the world seriously, least of all Alistair, and Cullen was overly eager to see what kind of Holy Miracles it would take to make him endure all this nonsense long enough to take his Vows and be out of here.


End file.
